DANGER MOUSE:
JUST PERHAPS
WRITTEN BY ZARIUS
In the snug security of their caravan at Sidneyland, Penfold rattled off a list of attractions he wanted to go, much to his partner and his pseudo-'father' Danger Mouse's dismay.
He even made mention of the swirly cups at fairgrounds that make you sick when you take a spin in them.
In fact, there were a lot of rides similar to that.
And he wanted to go on all of them.
Squawkencluck was hard at work on modifying Penfold's teddy bear Bernard, turning it into a listening device with which they could tabs on activities in the caravans surrounding their own. They were packed with scum and villainy to the left and right of them, and were mapping out their own plans for their mutual interest, the helmet of ultimate power, located at this very park.
To uncover the extent of their schemes, Squawk, DM and Penfold had been assigned to the mission as an undercover family, DM the father, Penfold the son, and Squawk the mother.
Yes, gender stereotyping. She couldn't possibly have been the sister, or the family friend, or the Aunt, she had to be the 'family matriarch'
The insane thing about it was Penfold swiftly took to their roles as if they'd been playing them all their lives.
He had harassed them in the car, wanting to know when they had arrived at the park, and then insisting he needed to wee, and then, in a most repugnant fashion, relieved himself in the car anyway.
She wondered just why Penfold was so committed to this kind of role, but then, considering all of the other childish things he had done in all the other instances she's crossed her path with his, perhaps it wasn't really in the least surprising.
It didn't bother her much, she was at ease with it, she'd grown to understand it over the years, or at least she thought she had, but it became all too telling later in the evening, after the villains had been put away and the helmet of ultimate power found itself safely back in the Danger Agent's hands, that there was something altogether more troublesome about it.
Penfold had clutched tightly to her and DM, barking on about how he still saw them both as family, despite DM's protests, but this time Squawk sensed there was more sincerity in his little spiel. He was serious about it.
It was then that it truly did hit her, the look she was giving him now was one of a person who felt compelled to answer a calling of sorts in life, this humble little hamster very much depended on the advice, trust, and patience of her and DM to a much more needy degree than she first thought. To him they truly were more than colleagues, friends and partners. To him they had transitioned into an altogether tighter unit, their task was to forever look out for one another, and keep Penfold out of trouble even if their job was to frequently get into some.
Penfold's behaviour was reflective of someone who didn't want the world to change his playful, innocent outlook on things, or to affect friendships with anyone else.
He desired shelter from the storm.
Squawk thought back to her work on Penfold's teddy bear, how careful she had been to stitch it all up properly, making sure the apparatus she had installed did not compromise the soft tender touch of the bear, allowing Penfold to continue giving it warm hugs as he sought to use it for comfort.
Little touches like that, coupled with the hug Penfold was giving her and DM now, convinced Squawk further that looking after him was something to consider.
She felt up to the challenge.
Always as a mother? Maybe not.
Forever a friend? That could work, but it was no guarantee of long-term commitment.
Something more all her days? Time would tell.
It depended on a precise moment of transition much like this one.
The soft, almost resigned look she gave him as he clutched her and DM close to him made her anticipate that moment all the more.
Who knows?
Perhaps this was it.
Just perhaps.